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Week of August 6, 2004 |
| Gables developer plans to hire 20 for new division By Sherri C. RantaCoral Gables residential developer Cornerstone Group plans to hire 20 employees as it builds a townhome division. The company has at least five townhome projects under construction and development in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties and several more under consideration, said John Barr, president of the new division formerly with Toll Brothers and Gemstar Homes. The new division, Mr. Barr said, will allow Cornerstone to fill a niche in the market as entry-level buyers look for affordable housing that would allow them to get out of rental properties. It is the company's second expansion in two years, he said. Townhomes, Mr. Barr said, are easier to build and more affordable than single-family homes because of the high cost of land in South Florida. Prices for Cornerstone's townhomes, he said, are expected to range from $140,000 to $275,000. Some of the group's projects are urban infills, Mr. Barr said, including the Preserve at Miami Shores, 730 NE 90th St. The project, which sold out in one week last year, is on the site of a former mobile-home park. Sales at four other projects - the 404-unit Marsh Harbour and 300-unit Sonoma Bay in Riviera Beach; the 185-unit San Remo in North Lauderdale; and a 150-unit project in Boynton Beach - are expected to begin in the fall. Stuart I. Meyers, chairman of Cornerstone, said the company is capitalizing on its expertise in designing and developing rental properties and high-rise condominiums to open the new division. The company is "confident it will mirror past successes," he said. Cornerstone, established in 1993 as a builder of affordable housing, opened its luxury rental and high-rise condominium division in 2002. Division projects include the 42-story La Perla condominium tower under construction in Sunny Isles Beach and Vue Residences and Beach Club, a 152-unit, two-tower mid-rise project in Fort Lauderdale. The National Association of Homebuilders ranks Cornerstone Group as the 10th-largest multifamily developer in the country and the fifth-largest in Florida. According to the company's Web site, Cornerstone, with about 370 employees, has gross annual revenue of about $200 million and a real estate portfolio of almost $1 billion. Details: www.cornerstonegrp.com.
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